Valparaiso’s post office opened in 1925, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #111 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Valparaiso was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1930.
The Valparaiso post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Valpariso (1937), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 99 in 19302020 census: 4,752101 years
How historic is Valparaiso?
C+
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Valparaiso post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Valparaiso’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Valparaiso is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #111 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Valparaiso’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Valparaiso’s 47.1 sits above most of its state (91% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Valparaiso’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1901, Allen Brown Jr. was the city's first settler who decided to homestead in Valparaiso.
In 1918, a Chicago industrialist named John B. Perrine bought the land from Allen Brown Jr. after visiting the community on a boat trip. He named the community after his original hometown, Valparaiso, Indiana (which in turn was named after Valparaiso, Chile), and is also a twin city with its neighboring city, Niceville. The name of the city is Spanish, and translates to "paradise vale" or "paradise valley", which is why the city's motto is "Vale of Paradise".
The City of Valparaiso was officially incorporated as a municipality in 1921, because Perrine petitioned the Florida Legislature to grant a municipal charter for its incorporation in 1918.
The Valparaiso post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Valparaiso rank for history?
Valparaiso is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #111 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Valparaiso?
Two places: the McKinley Climatic Laboratory (listed 1997) and the Eglin Field Historic District (1998).
How old are the homes in Valparaiso?
6% of Valparaiso’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1975.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
